Sewing tool



1959 A. M. ANDERSON ETAL 2,869,494

SEWING TOOL Filed Nov, 5, 1956 INVENTOR. ELMEF? E. flNDERSON HL/CE M. HNDE'RSON BY 2mm, 6mm,

Qafannd 7' TORNEYS United States Patent O SEWING TOOL Alice M. Anderson and Elmer E. Anderson,

Two Harbors, Minn. 1

Application November 5, 1956, Serial No. 620,250

3 Claims. (Cl. 112-203) This invention relates to sewing accessories and more particularly to a tool for manipulating fabric during machine stitching thereof.

Frequently it is necessary to manipulate a fabric at a location closely adjacent the presser foot and sewing needle of a sewing machine. It is difficult to try to manipulate the fabric at such a location with a persons,

fabrics as Dacron and nylon which are not easily creased;

the hem must oftentimes be basted by hand first before the hem is stitched on the machine. This is so because the fabric will slip in the folds of the hem and the hem will therefore be likely to be uneven unless extreme care is taken.

Rufiies in fabrics are often formed without a locked stitch and when the ruffles are to be stitched so as to attach the ruffled portion to another piece of fabric, or to secure the rufiles in the desired position, it is generally necessary to even out the spacing of the rufiles and make sure that the ruffles look the same. To manipulate the fabric in this type of an operation, it is necessary to do so in immediate proximity to the sewing machine presser foot and needle.

An object of our invention is to provide a new and improved tool of simple and inexpensive construction and operation for manipulating fabric while the fabric is being machine stitched.

Still another of our invention is the provision of a tool which may be used to manipulate and positively hold fabric in a desired position as the fabric is moved under the presser foot and needle of a sewing machine.

that the fabric is properly arranged when stitched so as.

to produce the desired result.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will more fully appear from the followingdescrip tion made in connection with the accompanying drawings throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the tool and of portions of a sewing machine and showing the manner in which the tool may be used in one type of operation;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a top elevation view of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a detail section view of a portion of the head of the tool comprising the invention as indicated at 4-4 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail bottom plan view of the head portion of the invention. One form of the;present invention is shown in the drawings and is described herein. The tool is indicated in general by numeral 10 and is constructed of thin and stiff plate material which is resiliently flexible. The tool includes an elongated handle portion 11 and a head portion 12 which, as best seen in Fig. 3, is obliquely disposed with respect to the handle 11. It will be noted particularly in Fig. 2 that the head 12 is also offset to one side of the handle 10. The head 12 has an outer edge portion 13 extending transversely of the head and of the handle 11. One end 14 of the edge portion 13 has a plurality of V-shaped teeth 15 therein and it will be noted that the end 14 of edge portion 13 is disposed transversely outwardly from the handle 11. As best seen in Fig. 5, the V-shaped configurations of the teeth 15 are formed by grinding out the notches between the teeth. The notches between the teeth extend well back into the outer edge portion 13 of the head 12 and define notches 16 in the lower surface 17 of the head 12.

The inner end of the outer edge portion 13 defines a smooth and substantially continuous edge 18 which is disposed in substantially end-to-end relation with the teeth 15 on the edge portion 13.

A scale 19 is provided on the head 12 along the outer side portion and is disposed transversely, though not perpendicular, with respect to the edge portion 13.

A sharpened knife edge 20 is provided at the other side of head 12 and is disposed at an acute anglew'ith the material-guiding edge 18. It will be seen in Fig. 5 that the sharpened edge 20 has a hook portion or curved segment 20a therein whereby to facilitate ready and easy removal of buttons and dangling threads and the like.

The tool 10 also has a sharpened point 21 at one side of the handle and substantially at the oblique angle of the tool between the handle 11 and head 12. The sharpened point 21 facilitates easy picking of threads in a seam and the like.

It will also be noted that a scale 22 is provided along one side of handle 11 to facilitate doing the multitude of necessary measuring operations involved in various types of sewing.

It should also be noted that the outer end 23 of handle 11 is flattened and is thereby well adapted for use as a screw driver.

One important use of the tool 10 is the forming of hems in fabrics which are by nature slippery and somewhat wiry and are not well adapted to creasing by mere application of pressure thereto. Because of these characteristics of many materials, folds made in the material for the purpose of defining a hem will not stay in the desired position and will not remain as folds. Between the time the fold is made and the time at which thematerial is moved into proximity with the presser foot and needle of the sewing machine, the hem has opened up and requires folding again. If the hem is not basted, the hem will open up even if the material is folded as the fabric is moving into the presser foot and needle. The head 12 of the tool 10 is placed upon the fabric in a position closely adjacent the presser foot F of the sewing machine S and in overlying engagement with the material M. After the hem is first formed, the tool is employed to produce substantially continuous folding and manipulating of the fabric as the fabric moves under the presser foot F. With the tool in the position shown in Fig. 1, it will be manually oscillated substantially in the direction of arrow A transversely of the direction of movement of the fabric so as to cause the teeth to engage the fabric being folded into the hem and push this ma terial into proper position for forming the hem. Because the tool is rapidly manually oscillated in the direction of is oscillated in the directionofarrowA, the-smooth guiding edge 18 directs the edge of the-fabric into the hem-forming foldso that the-edge-of the material is not doubled back upon itself in an undesired manner but is merely smoothly guided toward the teeth which actually do most of the pulling ofthe material into the-hem fold. It will befseenthat because the head 12 is disposed obliquely with respectto-the handle 11, the head may be laid flat upon the fabric and the outer edge portion 13 may be easily slipped into the hem-forming foldwithout distorting the shape of the fold. The handle may be gripped upwardly from the fabric so -as to prevent interference therewith. It shou ld also be notedthat because the head 12 isdisposed obliquely from'the handle 11 so as to dispose the toothed end portion 14 of the outer edge portion 13 outwardly away from the handle, visual inspection of the sewing remains unhampered and the tool handle ,11 will not interfere with the head of the sewing machine S. It will be noted that as the tool is oscillated in the direction of arrow A within the fold of a hem, the width of the, hem may be substantially continuously checkedby observing the edge of the hem along the scale, 19 when the teeth 15 have been projected as far as possible into the hem. If the fabric has a tendency to pucker as the stitching by the machine is being made, the bottom surface 17 ofthe head 12 may be laid substantially fiat upon the material and pressure may be applied to the material to keep it in a fiat position. The

material will be restrained from slipping because of the notches 16 in the. bottomsurface 17.

It is particularly desirable 'to flattenthe fabric by pressing the head upon the fabric when a seam is being made along the bias or. along a curve, such as in the formationof a: shoulder seam wherein a garment sleeve is connected to the, body portion of the garment. In sewing such a curveclseam which does not extend with the warp or the woof of the fabric, there is a definite tendency to pucker as the stitch is being made. The fabric maybe manipulated or held downwardly in a flat condition so as to produce a flat seam having a pleasing appearance. The head 12 may be positioned on the fabric so as to move therewith along one side of the presser foot as such a seam is being formed.

Another particularly useful function of the present tool is in the formation and stitching of ruffles which have been previously formed without a lock stitch. Rufiles are commonlyinitially produced without a lock stitch and when they are to be sewed into permanent form, the tool 10 is placed in such a position that the teeth 15 are disposed forwardly of the presser foot and adjacent one side rufiles. In performing this function'withthe tool,itfwill be notedthatif the rutfies will nothold themselves in the desired position even after having been manipulated by the teeth 15, the ruffle may beheld substantiallyflat by placing the bottom surface 17 of the head 12 against the ruflie as the same is passed through the sewing machine.

It should be noted that in this situation, the ruffle may be initially manipulated by the teeth 15 without removing the tool from the fabric, and may be moved into fabric-holding position with the lower surface 17 of head 12 bearing against the fabric.

It will be seen that we have provided a new and improved sewing accessory for use in manipulating fabric which is being sewed on a sewing machine and for holding the fabric in the desired position until the particular portion of the fabric held is engaged by the presser foot.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, detail, arrangement and proportion of the partswithout departing from the scope of our invention which consists of the matter described herein and set forth in the appended claims.

What weclaim is:

I 1.-Anfaccessory tool-for use in manipulating fabric being sewed on a-sewing machine, comprising an elongated handle, ahead secured toone end of the handle and being constructedfiof'stilf plate material, the head having an outer edge portion and a lower surface, said edge portheedge portion-having a smooth edge at the other end tion having teethformed at one end thereof for manipulating fabric when the tool is manually oscillated, and

' jchine,- after the" fabric has been manipulated by the teeth.

"2': 'The'invention asset forth in claim 1, wherein said 'teeth are substantially V-shaped to restrict catching of 3 threads and the like therebetween and to also facilitate easily releasing-such threads which are engaged thereby. 3.*Ai1 accessorytool for use in manipulating fabric being'sewed in a sewing machine, comprising an elongated handle, a stilf head constructed of plate material and being secured to the handle, said head having an outer edge portion extending transversely of the handle, said edge portion having teeth formed at one end thereof for rnanipulating fabric in forming hems and the like, and

said edge portion defining a smooth guiding edge at the other end thereof for guiding the fabric into position for engagement by'the teeth, and scale indications on the head and extending transversely of said edge portion and into immediate proximity therewith whereby to facilitate 'continuouschecking of hem widths and the like as the same are being formed to eliminate need for basting the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UN TED; STA'I ES PATENTS 944,094 Hilton Dec. 21, '1909 =1,22O,;O07 "Rowley Mar. 20,1917 5 2,643,624 Sanford Jan. 30, 1953 FOREIGN-PATENTS 525,773 Canada June 5, 1917 

